Features

CAIRO — At a Cairo wedding hall, Russian belly dancer Anastasia Biserova shimmied to the dance floor in a bright, high-slit skirt and an elaborately sequined bra top.

She swirled her diaphanous pink shawl and glided through the hall as a band pumped out music, while the crowd broke into rapturous applause — all captured in a video posted online.

“There is no country around the world that appreciates belly dancing like Egypt,” she later told AFP.

“Here, there is a growing trend to invite foreign belly dancers to weddings, nightclubs and other events.”

Biserova came to Cairo more than four years ago and has built a solid name for herself.

Belly dancers from Eastern Europe, Russia, Latin America and elsewhere have dominated the scene in recent years in Egypt — long regarded as the birthplace of belly dancing.

But the North African country has seen its community of homegrown dancers shrink, largely due to the profession’s increasing notoriety as the country has become more conservative over the last half-century — and to a broadening crackdown on freedoms.

The profession took a further hit as Egypt’s novel coronavirus outbreak forced the temporary suspension of large weddings and the shuttering of nightclubs — though many dancers continued to enthral audiences with online videos.

Conflicted views 

Belly dancer Maria Lurdiana Alves Tejas said it took her some time to come to terms with Egyptians’ conflicted view of her profession.

The Brazilian, known as Lurdiana, said she had performed to enthusiastic crowds at weddings and nightclubs, and had even taught at gym classes.

“But there are some who do not see me as a professional — or [who think] that I did not have a proper education and am only doing this to show my body for money,” she said.

“It was very difficult and sad because I spent years learning.”

Egypt’s belly dancing scene thrived last century, when icons like Samia Gamal and Tahya Carioca rose to fame on the silver screen.

But researchers say Egyptian society has largely seen the dance as entertainment, to be watched but never taken up as a profession.

“This view was bolstered by popular culture, and movies which depicted belly dancers as coquettes, prostitutes or home wreckers,” said Shaza Yehia, author of a 2019 book on the history of the dance.

Arabic terms for dancers — raqasat and awalem — now often bear offensive and racy connotations.

Recently, authorities have targeted dancers, pop divas and social media influencers who have posted videos online.

Often loosely worded charges against them have included violating “family values” or “public decency”.

Foreigners have not been spared in the crackdown.

In 2018, Russian belly dancer Ekaterina Andreeva — known as Johara — was briefly arrested for donning a costume deemed too revealing, after a video of her performance circulated widely.

‘Stirred imaginations’ 

According to Yehia and other researchers, belly dancing in Egypt is believed to have especially flourished during the 19th century.

“Performers at the time were called ‘awalem’, or the knowledgeable, in reference to their ample knowledge in the arts of singing and dancing,” Yehia said.

Its modern-day manifestation was in part shaped by Westerners during colonial times, she added.

Some even argue that the term “belly dance”, or “danse du ventre”, was originally coined by the French.

“Foreign writers and painters portrayed their own fantasies about Eastern belly dancers,” Yehia said.

“These views stirred imaginations in the West, which later sought to turn them into reality.”

International dance moves were incorporated into the Oriental dance, and costumes altered to appeal to popular tastes.

Now, conservatives and traditionalists view belly dancers’ gauzy skirts and glittery bra tops as too revealing, and often accuse them of being “vulgar” and “overtly sexual”.

Dancers performing to classical Arabic music have also become a rarity, instead usually preferring popular electro street music, known as mahraganat — a genre with fast beats and improvised vocals that purists view as overstepping moral boundaries.

Despite the apparent contradictions, foreign belly dancers in Egypt say coming to the country was the right choice.

“Foreigners have to come here to fully understand, perform and practise,” said Ukrainian belly dancer Alla Kushnir.

“Egypt is simply the land of belly dancing.”

GRODIG, Austria — In his waders, Stefan Astner checks on the albino sturgeon: Almost two decades after they hatched, they're ready to be gutted for their caviar to be shipped out for New Year's celebrations.

"The fish have already been through the ultrasound so we saw that they are full [of roe] and they will go into production soon," Astner says, dipping his net into a small pond teeming with the rare, white sturgeon.

Deemed the most expensive food in the world, demand for caviar — essentially, salted roe — has driven most sturgeon species to the brink of extinction in the wild.

But fish farms like the one where Astner works in the village of Groedig, near the Austrian city of Salzburg, offer a more sustainable alternative.

Owner Walter Gruell is one of about 2,500 sturgeon farmers worldwide that produce a combined 415 tonnes of caviar a year, according to the World Sturgeon Conservation Society's most recent figures dating from 2018.

But patience is imperative for producers.

The required investment is high and doesn't pay off for years until the sturgeon begin carrying roe — that's if they aren't stolen by gangs hoping to skip the arduous breeding process.

The albino female that Gruell slices with surgical precision is 16 years old.

Slowly, he removes, rinses, and weighs the cream-coloured roe, which, like the fish, lacks pigmentation.

There are no more than 40 sturgeon breeders specialising in albinos worldwide, according to Thomas Friedrich, an expert on sturgeon at the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences in Vienna.

Though there's no research suggesting that lack of pigmentation affects caviar's taste, Gruell is convinced of its superiority, asserting that "it's even sweeter, even smoother than the traditionally black one".

Consumers are willing to pay for the difference.

The female that Gruell just cut yields 600 grammes, worth 8,000 euros ($9,750) — more than three times the price that black caviar fetches.

Sturgeon rustlers 

The coronavirus pandemic has curbed demand as upscale restaurants, like all eateries in Austria, have been closed, but retail is booming, partly because people still want to treat themselves, Gruell believes.

"People want to savour the present moment," he says, between the many phone calls ahead of the end-of-year celebrations, when he makes close to 40 per cent of his annual turnover.

While AFP visited his farm, Gruell spoke to a luxury automaker, and shortly before had been in contact with an airline hoping to serve first-class travellers caviar "Made in Austria".

Demand for caviar remains high, and not just from paying customers, but sturgeon rustlers, too.

A year ago, 400 kilos of sturgeon were stolen from a farm less than two hours away from Groedig.

The eviscerated fish were later found in a reservoir.

A year before that, 400 individual sturgeon worth 50,000 euros were stolen from another farm.

At Gruell's farm, the fish, which include sturgeon native to the Danube, are protected by surveillance cameras and high fences with heavy padlocks.

Outliving dinosaurs 

Though sturgeon breeding in countries like China, Italy and France started as a purely financial venture, it is now also seen as a sustainable alternative to wild sturgeon.

Having survived the demise of the dinosaurs, some sturgeon species have recently gone extinct, while others are on the brink.

In Russia and Iran, production of wild caviar collapsed in the 1980s due to overfishing as well as pollution in the Caspian Sea.

Most countries along the Danube now protect the local sturgeon species, though experts worry that conservation might have come too late.

Official government data in Romania, where the Danube empties into the Black Sea, show that catches of Russian sturgeon plummeted from 3,725 kilogrammes in 2002 to just 37 kilogrammes in 2005, indicating that overfishing had gravely diminished their numbers.

Though the country issued a moratorium in 2006, impoverished fishermen continue to try and catch the fish, as the dozens of kilogrammes of roe that one sturgeon can carry are worth as much as a fisherman's annual income.

Some fans of the delicacy still believe that the taste of wild caviar eclipses that extracted from farmed sturgeon — though Gruell says his albinos are in a taste category of their own.

What was the idea behind A Perfect Planet?

Huw Cordey and I felt strongly that nobody had ever really done justice to the power and beauty of the natural forces that shape all life on our planet. There have, of course, been many weather shows, but even these never reached the quality and ambition of this blue chip landmark series. We were attracted to the fact that most people see the forces of nature, such as volcanic activity, as negative and destructive. However, this could not be further from the truth. We also liked the idea of telling the story of our planet’s forces through the eyes of the animals and plants whose lives they dominate. Finally, we felt this series could not have been timelier. Everyone is questioning whether mankind has upset “A Perfect Planet” and we were determined that our last episode would answer this question in a powerful and honest way.

How does A Perfect Planet move forward from previous BBC natural history series?

Combining the very best natural history footage with powerful images of the forces of nature has never been attempted in this way before. We are proud that big global stories have been told through the lives of engaging animal characters. The environmental narrative runs throughout the whole series but the final episode has to be the most powerful environmental message ever in any natural history landmark series.

What does it mean to have Sir David Attenborough present 

A Perfect Planet?

Sir David’s skill as a communicator goes without question. It comes with an authority that was critical to this series. This is particularly true of the final episode where, his presence in vision, adds so much to this complex and difficult message.

What is your favourite moment in the whole series?

There are so many wonderful sequences, I find it almost impossible to choose one favourite moment. However, if pressed, it would have to be the extraordinary spectacle of flamingos nesting on Lake Natron that opens episode one. It is one of the most extraordinary survival stories in nature, absolutely beautifully shot. It combines epic aerial images, captured as never seen before, with a really dramatic narrative and intimate character portraits.

Interview with Huw Cordey — series producer

What was the idea behind A Perfect Planet?

The idea behind the series was to show how the forces of nature — volcanoes, sunlight, ocean currents and weather — have nurtured the great diversity of life we have on our planet.

There have been many natural history series focussing on animal behaviour and habitats but this is the first to combine earth sciences, and a global perspective of our planet, and blue chip natural history — revealing not just powerful and intimate animal stories but giving the audience a much greater understanding of how the world works. 

We are the only known planet in the Universe with life — a fact that, on its own, would easily justify the description of ‘perfect’ — but none of it would have got started without a lot of cosmic fortune: Earth is the perfect distance from the sun, with the perfect tilt of 23.5 degrees. It has the ideal spin and a decent sized moon to stop us wobbling on our axis. But for life to proliferate as it has, our Goldilocks planet needed the perfect balance of natural forces that form the basis of this series. 

Without volcanoes, for instance, we would have no breathable atmosphere, no oceans and no dry land. Our weather distributes freshwater around the globe; ocean currents circulate essential nutrients, and energy from the sun powers our living world and is a vital ingredient for the most important chemical reaction on the planet — photosynthesis. And for the last ten thousand years, these forces have provided warmth and stability.

A Perfect Planet shows how these forces have shaped life on earth, from hundreds of thousands of lesser flamingos using a toxic volcanic lake to breed, to fire ants forming rafts in the Amazon’s flooded forest; from the wood frog that freezes solid like a block of ice every winter tiny to the fifty million red crabs of Christmas Island, which, on the onset of the Australian wet season, migrate to the coast where they cast trillions of eggs into the sea.A Perfect Planet is a celebration of our unique planet.

What is the format 

of the series?

A Perfect Planet is a five part series — the first four episodes look at the natural forces; volcanoes, the sun, weather and ocean currents, and the last in the series focuses on the human force and our impact on the natural world. 

Why do you think that it’s important that humans are included in this series?

This series would have felt incomplete without including the human force and our impact on the planet.  As Sir David Attenborough says at the beginning of the episode, “This is the most important story of our times”. 

There’s no denying that we are a powerful force — the most numerous mammal species after the brown rat — but our activity is now threatening the natural forces that our planet depends on. Indeed, our impact is now so great that scientists have suggested we have entered a new geological era, “the Anthropocene” — a period where human activity has been the dominant influence on the environment. 

We now release more carbon dioxide, through our burning of fossil fuels, than all the world’s volcanoes — and this gas is destabilising our weather, upsetting ocean currents and making our planet warmer. The consequences of this, if left unchecked, would be disastrous — not just for humanity but also for our great diversity of species. At the moment, we are losing species at a rate of more than 1000 times faster than would be considered normal. It’s why many scientists now believe that we are in a sixth mass extinction.

This episode shows how and why we have got to this position — but, and more importantly, it also reveals what we need to do to reverse the damage. The answer, appropriately, can be found in our natural forces, since green energy — wind, solar and thermal — can easily provide humanity with all the energy we require. 

What were the main

challenges in this series? 

The biggest challenge for any landmark series is how to raise the bar on what has been done previously. The audience has a huge expectation for each blue chip natural history series and to succeed they must feel fresh and surprising. 

We believed we had a very fresh idea but we still needed to tell engaging animal stories as never before. This required taking a lot of risks; for instance, trying to film the flamingo breeding spectacle on Lake Natron in Tanzania, which occurs only once in five years (Lake Natron is also one of the most demanding filming locations both logistically and physically — being one of the most toxic bodies of water on the planet, as well as remote; or, filming the nesting iguanas at the bottom of Fernandina’s active volcano, in the Galapagos. More people have been in space than the bottom of this volcanic crater and the scale of the expedition to film the behaviour was one that’s rarely been attempted in the Galapagos. 

Covering the entire globe, the whole production was a massive logistical exercise as many of the locations were in remote parts of the world and often involved expedition scale planning.

Did you film any new species?

The vampire finches we filmed for the Volcano episode were only officially recognised as a new species in 2018. They live on a very isolated, uninhabited island in the Galapagos and nobody has filmed them for TV in over 30 years. Every episode in the series has animal behaviour that has never been filmed before; such as the black tip reef sharks beaching themselves to catch baitfish in Lizard Island, flamboyant cuttlefish mating and laying eggs, the cave seeking giant tortoises of Aldabra, white wolves hunting musk oxen in the Polar night, and huge Nile crocodiles launching themselves out of the water to predate flocks of drinking quelea and bee eaters. 

New developments in technology — particularly drones, which are now smaller, quieter and stay up for longer — has allowed us to film other stories in ways not possible before, from the fishing bears in Kamchatka to the spectacle of nesting lesser flamingos on Lake Natron and the epic trek of their chicks across the salt encrusted lake, and the Gobi Desert’s Bactrian camels, one of the rarest large mammals on the planet.

How has wildlife filming changed in the last decade?

The technology has certainly changed for the better meaning we can attempt things that simply weren’t possible before. Cameras, for instance, are significantly better in low light than they were a decade ago making filming in places like jungles much easier. Lenses have also got more powerful. High quality remote cameras have allowed us to enter the world of animals that were previously either too rare or too sensitive to film in conventional ways. And there have been huge developments in moving camera technology from hand held gyro stabilised systems to sophisticated gimbals that can steady the action filmed on the end of long lenses. And then there are the drones. Ten years ago, battery technology for remote controlled aerial systems would have allowed you just a few minutes of filming time, and the drones were noisy and not very steady. Now, you can keep a drone in the air for as much as 30 minutes. They are smaller, a lot quieter (so much less disturbing to the animals you are trying to film) and are significantly more stable in the air — so shots are mostly very steady. 

However, what hasn’t changed is the audience expectation. People come to blue chip, landmark shows to be awed, inspired and surprised. It may be the only natural history series they watch all year but they won’t stay if the programmes feel familiar. So, while developments in technology have allowed us to shine a light on animals in new and fresh ways, it is still important to find completely new species and behaviour. This may feel like a growing challenge but it’s always amazing that with every new series a raft of new and surprising stories emerge. In my opinion, there’s no sign of this changing in the foreseeable future!

The last decade has also brought a number of changes in style and presentation. At the moment, there is an emphasis on intimate character led stories, animal dramas, if you like. It’s been an exciting time as this approach pushes the boundaries of creativity.

What is your favourite 

moment in the series?

My favourite moment in the series would be the aerial footage of the lesser flamingos nesting on Lake Natron. This event only happens once every five years or so, and then with virtually no notice, so just capturing the spectacle on film was a huge achievement for the team.But the drone shots of thousands of breeding flamingos on the otherworldly Lake Natron, with the towering volcano of OlDoinyoLengai in the background, are something else — Rembrandts as Alastair Fothergill would say!

First launched in 2014, the fourth generation junior executive C-Class was conceived to be a more luxurious entry point to Mercedes-Benz’s more exclusive in-line, rear-drive saloon models. Pitched as a first step towards the S-Class full luxury saloon, more than a sporty competitor to the BMW 3-Series, the C-Class’ design, technology and ambiance all looked toward Stuttgart’s flagship for inspiration.

Face-lifted in mid-2018, the revised C-Class adopted even more advanced technology, a subtly aesthetic refresh, and more significantly, now features more electrified and downsized engine variants.

Subtle refresh

Of Mercedes’ best current designs, the refreshed C-Class is little altered visually, but gets revised front and rear light elements for a moodier, more prominently browed effect at the front. It also receives mildly restyled front and rear bumpers. The front fascia’s biggest changes are taller side intake elements and slimmer and curvier bodywork elements above this, and beneath the headlights. Rear changes are similarly limited, but include a more prominent lower air diffuser and chrome elements, as driven with the AMG Line appearance package. 

The AMG package also features a wider lower intake honeycomb mesh element and sportier grille elements including a single thick slat flanking its emblem and a diamond style studded background. However, the biggest change to the driven C200 variant — at least as far as some markets like Jordan are concerned — is under the hood, with the replacement of its predecessor’s familiar 2-litre engine in favour of a significantly downsized 1.5-litre engine, coupled with a 48V starter/generator mild hybrid system to make up the performance difference.

Muscularly downsized

A turbocharged direct injection 4-cylinder engine like its larger predecessor, the new 1.5-litre engine is deployed for the entry-level end of the C-Class range including the C160 and C180, but is in its most powerful guise in C200 service. Developing the same power and just less 15lb/ft torque than its predecessor, the new C200 produces 181BHP at 5,800-6,100rpm and 207lb/ft throughout a now narrower 3,000-4,000rpm range. Meanwhile, its electric starter/generator system recovers and stores kinetic braking energy and can produce 13BHP and up to 118lb/ft.

Operating some ancillary systems to reduce reliance on the combustion engine and to allow for longer coasting and stop/start functionality, the C200’s mild 48V hybrid system can also pitch in its power and some torque output when necessary, including at low revs, before its turbocharger has fully spooled up. A capable engine when on boost, the C200 is confident and quick at its muscular torque plateau and peak power sweet spot. Meanwhile, its slick shifting 9-speed automatic gearbox well-utilises available output for performance, versatility and efficiency.

Nimble efficiency

Smooth and refined for such an engine producing so much from so little displacement, the C200 is a more efficient car than its predecessor, with frugal 6.3l/100km combined cycle fuel consumption. An admirably capable engine in many ways, the 1.5-litre C200’s power plant takes only slightly longer through 0-100km/h but however trades off a slight measure of visceral real world performance, low-end versatility or fluency next to its larger, thirstier 2-litre predecessor. From standstill, it is not quite as responsive, while boost and electric drive input seem to arrive less gradually.

Capable of carrying its 1,505kg mass through 0-100km/h in just 7.7-seconds and onto a 239km/h maximum, the C200 is a reasonably brisk car with good mid-range flexibility and top-end power. Built on one of Mercedes’ sportiest, most agile and rewarding platforms, the C200 is a fun car to hustle along winding roads, with crisp, tidy and quick turn-in from its direct electric-assisted steering. Well-containing body lean through corners, the C200 meanwhile benefits from reassuringly confident braking and a number of safety and driver assistance systems.

Stylish and sporty

Nimble and adjustable through corners, handling and driving fluency is however is better served by keeping high revs and feathering the throttle when exiting corners at brisk pace, to avoid sudden turbo and electric boost from loosening rear grip and calling in electronic stability controls. A sporty handling drive, the C200 is confidently stable at speed, buttoned down vertically, and settled on rebound. Manoeuvrable in town, the C200 is comfortable, yet rides slightly on the firm side over sharp bumps and cracks, as driven with optional sporty low profile tyres.

A refined and classy car, the C200’s cabin has a sportily up-market ambiance with good quality materials, and stylish design with its thick steering wheel, circular vents and jutting dashboard. Comfortable and well-adjustable in front, the C200 provides a terrific driving position, while luggage volume and rear seating is fair for its segment, if not highly spacious for seating tall and large occupants in tandem. Refreshed inside, the revised and well-equipped C200 receives new colours, enhanced technology and infotainment systems including improved instrument and centre displays.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Engine: 1.5-litre, turbocharged, in-line 4-cylinders, 

Electric motor: 48V starter/generator

Bore x stroke: 80.4 x 73.7mm

Compression ratio: 10.5:1

Valve-train: 16-valve, DOHC, direct injection

Gearbox: 9-speed automatic, rear-wheel-drive

Ratios: 1st 5.35; 2nd 3.24; 3rd 2.25; 4th 1.64; 5th 1.21; 6th 1.0; 7th 0.86; 8th 0.72; 9th 0.60

Reverse/final drive: 4.8/3.07

Petrol engine power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 181 (184) [135] @5,800-6,100rpm

Electric motor, power, BHP (PS) [kW]: 13 (14) [10]

Petrol engine torque, lb/ft (Nm): 206.5 (280) @3,000-4,000rpm

Electric motor, torque, lb/ft (Nm): 118 (160)

0-100km/h: 7.7-seconds

Top speed: 239km

Fuel consumption, combined: 6.0-6.3 litres/100km 

CO2 emissions, combined: 136-144g/km

Fuel capacity: 41-litres

Length: 4,686mm

Width: 1,810mm

Height: 1,442mm

Wheelbase: 2,840mm

Track, F/R: 1,588/1,570mm

Aerodynamic drag co-efficiency: 0.26

Overhang, F/R: 790/1,056mm

Headroom, F/R: 1,039/942mm

Legroom, F/R: 1,066/812mm

Shoulder room, F/R: 1,404/1,398mm

Luggage volume (without spare tyre): 435-litres

Payload: 580kg

Kerb weight: 1,505kg

Steering: Electric-assisted rack & pinion

Turning Circle: 11.22-metres

Suspension: Multilink

Brakes, F/R: Ventilated discs 305mm/discs 300mm, regenerative braking

Tyres, F/R: 225/40R19/255/35R19

TAIPEI — A second Taiwan-born giant panda made her media debut on Monday, clambering over a wooden climbing frame and playing with sawdust to the sound of clicking cameras.

The cub was born on June 28 to Tuan Tuan and Yuan Yuan, who were gifted by China in 2008 to mark then warming relations between the two rivals.

China usually only loans its pandas to foreign zoos, but gave the breeding pair — whose names combine to mean “reunion” or “unity”.

China views Taiwan as part of its territory and has vowed to one day bring the self-ruled democratic island back into the fold, by force if necessary.

Yuan Bao, which means “round baby” in Chinese, was unveiled to some 150 reporters and invited guests alongside her mother at Taipei Zoo.

Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je said the cub had “grown well”.

She now weighs over 13 kilogrammes, up from 186 grammes at birth.

Taiwan’s zoo has seen a flurry of births this year, including a gorilla, koala, Malayan tapir and pangolin.

Yuan Yuan gave birth to a daughter Yuan Zai in 2013 — the first giant panda born in Taiwan. The family has been the top attraction at the zoo.

According to the World Wildlife Fund, just over 1,800 are believed remaining in the wild.

By Ghadeer Habash
Internationally Certified
Career Trainer

Today’s world is often described as “VUCA”, the acronym for volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. In this world, changes are unpredictable, dramatic and rapid, affect all aspects of our lives and take us on unclear personal and professional paths.

Yet, according to the VUCA model, you can still position yourself, your company or organisation for success despite the uncertainty brought by turbulence and rapid change. Training and soft skills, in particular, are always regarded as main pillars for companies’ personal growth and success. Nowadays, within turbulent times caused by economic recession and deepened by the COVID-19 pandemic, agility has become the most necessary skill. 

Agility (organisational and personal) is key to surviving and thriving in a chaotic world.

It is the ability to move quickly and easily. With the pace of change increasing and with no end in sight, teams and organisations need to learn how to work quickly on a daily basis by becoming more flexible and responsive. 

The pandemic and its devastating impact on business require a different mindset and skill-set. There is no room for long term plans as these become obsolete within an unpredictable tomorrow! You can plan for the short-term (one to three months), revise your plan and adjust it regularly. 

The SEAL model

The SEAL model is a valuable tool that can support you in reacting successfully to change, whether it’s a dramatic upheaval as in the case of COVID-19, the emergence of new competitors or unexpected shifts in overall market conditions. 

S: Scan the competitive landscape and opportunities to create new business

E: Experiment with new products or services, markets, new work practices 

A: Adapt the business or organisation as needed by evaluating what areas need to be changed (how people are organised, which processes and policies need to be adjusted, what workforce skills are necessary) 

L: Learn and evolve, cultivating an environment where your team can feel free to learn and applying a growth mind-set to everyday business so your organisation or company can evolve with the outside world.

COVID-19 has accelerated the digital transformation; one example is online learning in Jordanian schools and another example is how most of the working force has started to work remotely and conduct virtual meetings via Zoom or Microsoft Teams. Big transformations lead us to re-prioritise our goals and actions.

How can we be ready in an uncertain world?

Try to predict what’s going to happen in your business environment and plan for different scenarios. Think of the best- and worst-case scenarios and your action plan for each. A brainstorming session with your team can be beneficial in this exercise. 

Last but not least, hope for the best and work for the worst!

Reprinted with permission from Family Flavours magazine

PARIS — Climate change and biodiversity loss are laying bare our dependence on the natural world for everything from the food we eat to the air we breathe. 

But nature also holds the solution to other problems, inspiring scientific discovery in a host of unexpected ways.

Nature is “a source of inspiration for science, because it has figured out the way Earth supports life”, said Lex Amore from the Biomimicry Institute. 

“It is imperative we look to the biological blueprints that have been successful over millennia to launch groundbreaking ideas faster.” 

From smelly durian fruit that could charge electric cars to sea sponges that might help build better spaceships, here is a selection of this year’s scientific work inspired by nature. 

Parasitic wasps

Removing tumours and blood clots through minimal invasive surgery may soon become easier thanks to a flexible, ultra-thin and steerable needle inspired by parasitic wasps. 

These formidable insects inject their eggs into living hosts such as caterpillars through a hollow needle called the ovipositor. 

Scientists from the Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands studied the ovipositor’s delivery mechanism, with blades that slide up and down alternately, using friction to push the eggs through.

Researchers designed a needle made up of sliding rods that imitate the ovipositor, according to a recent study in Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology. 

They say the new needle is capable of reaching deeply buried parts of the body to inject medicine or remove harmful formations, while minimising trauma and patient recovery time. 

This is a starkly different outcome than for the targets of parasitic wasps, whose larva often devour their caterpillar host from the inside. 

Spider silk

Spiders make silk to entangle unsuspecting bugs, but now humans can use it to make optical lenses capable of picturing viruses that are invisible to the naked eye. 

In a June study published in the Journal of Applied Physics, scientists said they used daddy-long-legs’ dragline silk — which makes a web’s frame — as a support for the lens. 

In experiments, they covered a strand of spider silk in wax then dripped resin onto it. As it condensed, the silk naturally formed a dome, which researchers baked in an ultraviolet oven. 

The resulting optical lens is about the size of a red blood cell and could be used to picture nano-scale objects like viruses or the insides of biological tissue. 

As the lens is made from natural, non-toxic material, it can safely be used inside the body. 

Sea sponge

An intricately latticed marine sponge called the Venus’ flower basket found in the depths of the Pacific Ocean could inspire stronger skyscrapers, longer bridges and lighter spacecraft, according to a September study published in Nature Materials. 

Scientists discovered that the structure of the sponge’s tubular skeleton gives it a higher strength-to-weight ratio than traditional designs that have been used for centuries for buildings and bridges. 

“We’ve been studying structure-function relationships in sponge skeletal systems for more than 20 years, and these species continue to surprise us,” said co-author James Weaver, a Harvard University scientist.

Stinky fruit

To some they are succulent and delicious, to others they are so overpoweringly stinky that they are routinely banned from hotel rooms across Southeast Asia.

But the durian fruit may be about to add a new unexpected reason for its fame — helping to charge mobile phones and electric cars.

In a February study published in the Journal of Energy Storage, scientists described how they made extremely light and porous materials called aerogels from the fruit.

Aerogels are “great super-capacitors”, which resemble energy reservoirs that dole out energy smoothly, said co-author and Sydney University associate professor Vincent Gomes.

“[Super-capacitors] can quickly store large amounts of energy within a small battery-sized device,” he said.

They can then supply energy to charge electronic devices such as mobile phones, tablets and laptops within a few seconds, he added.

Bamboo buildings

Cars, aeroplanes and buildings are mostly made of steel, concrete or brick. 

Bamboo has attracted interest as a versatile construction material. But how to make it strong enough? In a May study published in the ACS Nano, researchers said they had found an answer.

By partially removing the lignin — an organic substance which forms woody tissue — and microwaving the bamboo, researchers said its strength nearly doubled.

Bamboo is already used to build houses and bridges, but this new discovery may further increase its popularity as a light, fast-growing and sustainable alternative to polluting materials. 

From forests to the depths of the oceans, Amore from the Biomimicry Institute said there was “so much intelligence” to tap into in the natural world.

“We can use biomimicry, this practice of studying nature and replicating its strategies in design, to not only learn from nature’s wisdom, but also heal ourselves — and this planet — in the process.”

MADRID — “El Yiyo”, a flamenco dancer whose real name is Miguel Fernandez, honed his skills by watching YouTube videos. Now, aged just 24, he made his debut at Spain’s main opera house with a show he developed during the country’s virus lockdown.

Spain’s new flamenco prodigy was born into a Roma family in Badalona, near Barcelona, who are from the southwestern region of Andalusia, the birthplace of the art form which incorporates poetry, singing, guitar playing, dance and rhythmic hand-clapping and foot-stomping.

“El Yiyo” recalls catching the attention of flamenco dancer Manuel Jimenez, alias “Bartolo”, as a child while dancing at a family wedding.

“He told my parents that he wanted to give me free lessons, because I was a diamond he wanted to polish,” he told AFP at Madrid’s Teatro Real before his debut performance.

“In our family, we celebrated good news by singing. Children sang and danced, it was very normal for them, a reflex that I absorbed at a very young age without being aware of it.”

He was just seven when he first began performing for the public at a hall in Barcelona.

At the age of 11 he was already the headline act during a tour of Taiwan.

And before Spain went into a nationwide lockdown because of the pandemic in March, he danced for four months at the legendary Corral de la Moreria flamenco venue in Madrid.

‘Dance of strength’

“El Yiyo”, who has modelled clothes for Armani and IKKS and even featured in Vogue, used the lockdown to choreograph the show which he performed at the Teatro Real. 

He appeared on the stage alongside his brother Ricardo in a performance that displayed his ability to improvise.

While he was performing a “zapateado”, which is marked by a rapid rhythmic stomping of the floor, one of his heels broke.

“El Yiyo” swiftly took off his shoes and continued the performance in his socks to the applause of the audience.

“My dance is a state of mind,” he said, before adding it is “a dance of strength, of intensity”.

While he was happy to be invited to perform at the two-centuries-old Teatro Real, he said there was still “a lot of ground to cover” before flamenco has the “weight” it deserves in august institutions such as the Madrid opera house.

Slender and with shoulder-length hair, “El Yiyo” — a diminutive form of Miguelillo (little Miguel) — said he gets his inspiration from the great names of flamenco.

“I try to learn something from all of them,” he said.

Eclectic education

“El Yiyo” said he bolstered his formal dance training by watching YouTube performances of legendary flamenco stars who have passed away, such as Antonio Gades who he admires for his “elegance” and Carmen Amaya who performed in several Hollywood films at the peak of her career in the 1940s and who he called a “genius”.

The contemporaries he admires are Antonio Canales and Joaquin Cortes, who fuses various styles with flamenco, and “Farruquito”, hailed by critics for his entrancing, rapid foot-tapping turns who he is proud to have danced with.

While “El Yiyo” is more of a flamenco purist, he said he sees nothing wrong with fusing it with other genres like the blues, jazz or rock, a trend that has become more popular following the success of Grammy-winning Spanish singer Rosalia who mixes flamenco with reggaeton, trap and R&B.

Rosalia, who is not Roma, has been accused by some of appropriating an art form with Roma origins.

“I am in favour of variety, that way there is a wide range of purists, of non-purists, and that way flamenco is always talked about,” said “El Yiyo”.

It is almost the end of the year, and as usual, we take a little time to look back at all that happened in the last 12 months. Whereas the major, single big event has been and is still the COVID-19 crisis, what is of interest for this very column are not the direct but the indirect consequences of this unprecedented pandemic — namely the impact it has had on the world of high-tech. Or, to put it in other words, the impact that digital technology has had on the situation.

From being more or less dependent on computers and networks, we became heavily dependent on them. Suddenly they were a vital cord, a matter of survival and this is no exaggeration. No one can deny that without digital technology and IT tools and devices the situation would have been even more dramatic, more disastrous than what it is.

There is hardly one field that was not affected and that desperately needed fast Internet, laptop computers, quality webcams and microphones. New software applications had to be designed, developed, and made available overnight. There was, and there still is, the need for certain categories of people, to learn how to better perform online work, participate in e-meetings, take e-learning, etc. The prefix “e-“ was added to the countless tasks that were moved to online platforms. Parents (and probably educators too) had to take tranquilisers to cope with the idiosyncrasy of remote learning.

Retail stores that sell consumer computer equipment were in short stock. In general, those working in the IT field were the busiest people in the entire trade business.

Fortunately, a lot had already been made in the past five years or so in terms of doing more online and of preparing the population to the move. The Jordanian eFawateercom online payment system for services is saving citizens precious time and money, reducing transportation cost and hassle.

Online banking is now the norm and most, though not all, of the formalities that you would do at Greater Amman Municipality (GAM) can now be done online. For certain types of the processes with GAM and that involve renewing work permits for non-Jordanian workers, you still have to do it by going in person to the labour office. Admitted, the fact that other types of permits, like for instance those for house helpers and agricultural workers, are done online, has significantly reduced the congestion and the crowds that one would see at the Labour office for the remaining types.

The lesson to be learned, if any, is that investing in IT resources pays off. Whether you pay more for a large computer monitor, a high-definition webcam, larger hard disks, a faster laptop, more cloud storage, or for good IT support and more Internet bandwidth, or to upgrade existing software, it is always money well spent in the end. You feel it and you experience it all the time, but even more so in trying times like the current pandemic.

Remote access software, in particular, has proven to be very useful when you have to serve clients remotely, or simply help a less tech-savvy friend, and must access their computer without going to them personally. Applications like AnyDesk and TeamViewer come to the rescue time and again, allow IT tech teams to solve clients problems in a quick, efficient, and before anything else, safe manner.

For those not familiar with them, AnyDesk and TeamViewer are light, easy-to-use software applications that let you work on a remote computer, whether to fix it, to install software, to upgrade it or to show its owner how to do this or that task, without leaving your desk. In times like these, this is priceless.

I am simply curious to know what I will have to look back at next year, around the same time.

BEIJING — Liu Jun has long been a fan of a Chinese star called Amy, a teenage pop singer with red hair whose autograph he treasures — and who only exists in the digital world.

On Saturday “Amy” won a breakthrough virtual talent show in China, where computer-generated entertainers perform in front of real-life judges and tens of millions of online viewers.

“You can’t see what they are like in real life, so you can have more fantasies about them,” said 28-year-old Liu, who has attended more than ten of Amy’s concerts and fan events in recent years.

“The virtual idol is indestructible — as long as the image is still there, she can stay in your heart forever,” he added.

Amy found fame on “Dimension Nova”, which claims to be the world’s first talent show bringing together digital performers to dance and sing in front of three — real-life — celebrity judges.

But Liu has followed Amy’s career from the start and said he cried when he saw her on the talent show, feeling the performer would finally get the bigger platform she deserved.

At one of Amy’s fan events, Liu and other fans talked with her through a 2 metre high screen, and a printer attached to the screen gave him her “signature”.

Although the virtual idol concept originated in Japan, these digital avatars are now stealing airtime in China, where they appear on TV shows, billboards and even news programmes.

They now command growing fanbases — research from iQiyi estimates an audience of 390 million nationwide. 

“The idea of making this talent show is to let everyone know that virtual idols can show up in our real world now,” the show’s executive producer Liu Jiachao told AFP.

Making stars

The virtual stars in the show are created by a mixture of computer animation and actors — Amy’s clothes, hairstyle and appearance are created by animators, before her human actor takes on everything else.

Real-time motion capture and rendering technology mean as the human moves it is reflected by the on-screen idol. To prepare for Amy’s performances, the actor had to take extra dance training.

But creators avoid all mention of the existence of the actor behind the idol.

“Our logic is that every virtual idol has a real soul,” said Beijing Mizhi Tech Chief Executive Liu Yong, whose firm created Amy.

“They have their own personality, characteristics and preferences... they really exist in this world,” he told AFP.

Instead of showing the actor, the show runs footage of animators anxiously waiting backstage, as if they were the performer’s family.

“I see Amy as my daughter,” said 26-year-old Xu Xingmei, the animator in charge of designing Amy’s expressions and motions.

“When I saw Amy show up on the stage, I felt that my daughter had finally grown up.” 

Technical bloopers

Amy belongs to a booming virtual idol industry that is expected to be worth 1.5 billion yuan ($230 million) within the next two years, according to Beijing-based market researcher Newsijie.

Video-sharing website Bilibili reported a 200 per cent increase in viewing hours of its virtual idol live streaming channels in the first ten months of this year. 

Some experts worry that if too many companies pile in on the market the quality could suffer. 

“If you really want to join [the industry], you need money, technology and perseverance,” said Cao Pu, chief executive of Shanghai Henian Technology, which created one of China’s most successful virtual idols.

Since virtual idols live and die through the strength of their technology, the risk of embarrassing technical failures is high.

In one awkward show appearance, only Amy’s cap appeared onstage.

Other performers have disintegrated mid-appearance after technical breakdowns — including one contestant who froze when he tried to teach the judges kung fu.

“It’s so embarrassing that I don’t think it’s fit for humans to watch,” complained one viewer on social media.

But the show’s creators have batted away criticism.

“Many viewers who have followed our show from the beginning will find that there has been a great improvement in our technology,” said Liu, the producer.

“Controversy is inevitable when new things come out.”